Wire bottle carrier



Feb. 20, 1962 R. E. PALMER WIRE BOTTLE CARRIER Filed May 24, 1956INVENTOR.

#205521- E'. PALMER BY nlw ATTORNEY 1 Claim. (Cl. 215-100) Thisinvention relates to improvements in bottle carriers and has for itsprimary object the provision of a simple, novel, effective andinexpensive device adapted to be readily attached to the neck of abottle or a similar member, in order to provide a bail by means of whichit may be carried about.

A further object is to provide such a device whose bail will not onlysupport the bottle but will also maintain itself in rigid adjustedpositions when not being used to support its associated bottle.

These and other objects of the invention will become apparent from areading of the following specification and claim, together with theaccompanying drawing wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the bottle carrier that is the subjectof this invention, showing it as it appears when a bottle is supportedthereby;

FIGURE 2 is a top plan view of the unmounted ring element;

FIGURE 3 is a left end view of the same taken along the line and in thedirection of the arrows 3-3 of the FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a top plan view of the assembled unit, showing the bail inalternate positions; and

FIGURE 5 is a perspective view of the device as it appears when thebottle to which. it is attached is unsupported thereby and in aninverted position.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, there is seen the bottlecarrier, broadly indicated by reference numeral 9, that is the subjectof this invention as it appears mounted on a bottle 10. v

The bottle is of the type usually used for containing milk or otherliquid foods and has a neck 12 and a neck ridge or head 11 therearound,spaced downwardly of the filling open ng 24. The bottle illustrated isthe conventional glass gallon jug commonly used for the purpose, but itis to be understood that any type container having a beaded neck may beso supported.

The carrier 9 comprises a neck encircling ring 18 which is engaged by acarrying bail or handle 13. The ring 18 is fabricated from a singlelength of resilient wire of suitable gage to avoid distortion under theweight to be supported. The ring 18 comprises two semi-circular portionsjoined through a loop 19 formed integral therewith at its mid point.

Reference numerals 2t) and 22 indicate terminal loops at the open endsof the ring, as is seen most clearly in FIGURE 2. These loops are joinedto the ring through offset portions 21 and 23 respectively, whereby thelooped ends 26 and 22 of the ring 18 are inherently influenced to spreadapart at the same time the construction influences the loops 20 and 22to normally maintain themselves at an angle to one another, as is seenmost clearly in FIGURES 2 and 3.

Reference numeral 13 indicates a wire handle of substantially U-shapedconfiguration having legs 14 and 16 terminating in inturned and opposedhooks and 17 respectively. The hooked ends 15 and 17 are bent upwardtoward the top of the handle at a slight angle, so that the supportedloop elements will not slip off when assembled as hereinafter described.The distance between the inturned hooks is less than the diameter of thering circle, so that when the handle is engaged with the loops the hookends will lie within the ring circumference.

fine

Patented Feb. 20, 1952 theop'en'ring 18 over the neck 12t'o a point justbelow the bead 11'. It" m'aybe necessary to flex the ring 18 slightly topass it" over the head 11, but this is easilyv done since theiri'ri'gi'siopen. After'th'e ring, is' in positionbelow' the' be'a'd' 11, thehandle 13" is positioned over the bottle neckand'oneof'it'sterminal'hooks 17 is slipped into the loop 19. Diametric pressureis then brought to bear against the ring 18 between the loop 19 and theopen endloops 20 and 22. This causesthe ring to fiex until the loops 20and 22 overlie one another in parallel planes, as seen in FIGURE 4. vThe other handle hook 114 is then inserted through the two overlyingloops 20 and 2-2. Upon release of the diametric compressive pressure,the inherent resilience of the so formed ring causes the loops 20 and 22to spring apart and press against the handle leg 14.

Lateral movement of handle leg 14 is prevented by the other leg 16 whichis held by the loop 19. Therefore, the handle is subjected to frictionalpressure by the interaction of the several loops, and will maintain itsposition unless forcibly moved. The carrier is thus firmly anchored tothe bottle neck by the ring 18 which is held closed around the neck 11by the handle 13' whose end hooks 15 and 17 engage the loops 20-22 and19 respectively.

The so attached handle 13 will hold any position to which it isintentionally set, 13a, and is not free to react to the force of gravityas are all such devices made heretofore. This is due to the outwardpressure of the loops 20 and 22 exerted on the handle 13 as explainedhereinabove.

As a result, the handle may be positioned upward against the bottle,when the bottle is inverted, as illustrated in FIGURE 5, and will holdsuch position against severe vibration. This is especially importantwhen the bottles are returned to the bottling plant for refilling, sinceall returned bottles must be cleaned before being refilled. Mostautomatic bottle washing machines require that the bottle be invertedover a spray jet which sprays the interior with a cleansing solutionwhich then flows out of the bottle by gravity.

Heretofore, a bottle having a carrier could not be washed in automaticmachines due to the fact that the handles were freely movable and wouldfall over the mouth of the bottle when inverted. This would interferewith the proper action of the machine and would often result in bottlebreakage or deformity of the handle. As a result, bottles havingcarriers would haveto be washed by hand or else the carriers would haveto be removed before washing. However, with the instant device, thehandle 13 will not fall over the bottle mouth and bottles having my typeof carrier may be easily and safely washed in automatic machines.

It will now be clear that there is provided a device which accomplishesthe objectives heretofore set forth. While the invention has beendisclosed in its preferred form, it is to be understood that thespecific embodiment thereof as described and illustrated herein is notto be considered in a limited sense as there may be other forms ormodifications of the invention which should also be construed to comewithin the scope of the appended claim.

I claim:

A bottle carrier, comprising in combination, a bottle neck engaging ringformed from a single piece of resilient wire shaped to form an opencircle, offset at its ends and including first and second end loopspositioned normal to the plane of the circle and lying entirely outsidethe circumference thereof in normally non-overlapping angu laropposition, the ring also having an ofiset portion, diametricallyopposite the two end loops, bent upon itself v 3 p a 4 to form a thirdloop, positioned normal to the plane of parallel positions, whereby theyfrictionally press against the circle and lying entirely outside thecircumference the handle to hold same in adjusted positions. thereof;and a substantially U-shaped wire handle having inturned and opposed endhooks spaced apart a distance References Cited in the file of this Palmtless than the diameter of the ring, one of the handle 5 UNITED STATEsPATENTS hooks being engageable with the third ring loop and the r otherof said hooks being engageable with the first and 9 ,337 Lee Nov. 17,1908 second loops upon diametrical compression of the ring, 2,160,662Jenkins May 30, 1939 the so-engaged handle acting to hold the first andsecond 2,283,357 Jenkins June 30, 1942 loops in compressed engagementtherewith in overlying

